ignorer
/i.ɲɔ.ʁe/
To ignore in French is ignorer.
The verb ignorer means to refuse to take notice of someone or something.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase j'ignore is frequently used to mean 'I don't know' or 'I have no idea' regarding a specific fact.
How do you pronounce it?
/i.ɲɔ.ʁe/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Be careful with a common false friend: in French, ignorer can also mean 'to be unaware of' or 'to not know', a meaning that does not exist for the English word 'ignore'.
Did you know?
- French has a specific expression faire comme si on ne voyait pas which literally means 'to act as if one does not see' and is often preferred over ignorer when describing a polite social snub.
- The word ignorer is a 'false friend' not just to English speakers, but also to Spanish speakers, as ignorar in Spanish more consistently aligns with the English 'to disregard'.
- The word ignorer entered the French language as a learned borrowing from the Latin word īgnōrō.
Examples in context
- Je vais ignorer ça.I'll ignore that.This sentence demonstrates the use of ignorer.Tatoeba #4488601 by VisionElf, translation #2247761 by CK
- Je sais quoi ignorer.I know what to ignore.Tatoeba #2385895 by sacredceltic, translation #2376337 by CK
- Tu n'as qu'à l'ignorer !Just ignore it.Tatoeba #2267074 by sacredceltic, translation #2230468 by Hybrid
- Je préfère l'ignorer et rester concentré sur mon travail.I prefer to ignore him/her and stay focused on my work.
- Le président a décidé d'ignorer ces accusations infondées.The president has decided to ignore these baseless accusations.
- Veuillez ne pas prêter attention à ces rumeurs sans fondement.Please ignore these unfounded rumors.
- Il est préférable de ne pas prêter attention aux critiques injustifiées.It is better not to pay attention to unjustified criticisms.
- Dans ce rapport, nous allons faire fi des suppositions non vérifiées.In this report, we will ignore unverified assumptions.
- Les dirigeants ont décidé de faire fi des opinions non pertinentes.The leaders have decided to disregard irrelevant opinions.
- J'ai décidé de zapper cette émission ennuyeuse à la télévision.I decided to ignore/skip that boring TV show.
- Il m'a complètement zappé lors de la réunion.He completely ignored me during the meeting.
- Arrête de faire la sourde oreille et écoute ce que je te dis.Stop ignoring me and listen to what I'm telling you.
- Elle a fait la sourde oreille lorsque je lui ai posé la question.She ignored me when I asked her the question.
- 60 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Lucas are at a coffee shop.
- LéaIl essaie de nous parler.He is trying to talk to us.
- LucasIl faut l'ignorer.You should ignore him.
- LéaTu as raison, Lucas.You are right, Lucas.
- LucasNe le regarde pas.Don't look at him.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry ignorer, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ignorer, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
